Tahiti marks day against nuclear testing

Test veterans in French Polynesia are marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests by expresssing concern at the slow pace of getting compensation from France.

Two years ago, France recognised for the first time that its nuclear weapons tests were not clean and promised to compensate victims.

However, almost all applications lodged so far have been rejected.

In 2009, the UN general assembly declared today the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

It said it was meant to galvanise the UN member states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media to inform and advocate about the necessity of banning nuclear tests as a valuable step towards achieving a safer world.

Apart from France, the US and Britain used the Pacific to test nuclear weapons over 40 years.